Building construction



Oct. 22, 1963 J- A. THIBERT "BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet lmvENToK, J02! A. THIBEKT, Arrow Filed Jan. 31. 1961 Oct. 22, 1963 J. A.THIBERT BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 31, 1961INVENTOK, J'OSEPH A.THIBEPQ1 Amway 1963 J. A. THIBERT BUILDINGCONSTRUCTION I s sheets-sheet 3' Filed Jan. 31, 1961 \NVENTQK/ MJoszymmsen, N; v

United States Patent C) 3,107,755 BUILDTNG C(ENSTRUCTION Joseph A.Thibert, 85 Chelwood Road, Scarborough, Ontario, (Ianada Filed ran. 31,19st, Ser. No. 86,186 12 Claims. (Cl. 139-34) This invention relates ingeneral to new and useful improvements in building construction, andmore particularly to a novel wall construction.

A primary object of this invention is to provide a novel wall formingmember which is hollow and therefore light in weight for ease ofhandling, and which is readily formed from sheet material whereby thecost thereof is relatively low and at the same time relatively highstrength is provided.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel wall formingmember which is of a hollow construction and of a generally U-shape withthe member being conflgurated for relative ease of stacking and with aninterlocked connection between vertically adjacent members, the membershaving imperforate bottoms wherein the members may be filled with earthor similar fill to provide a rigid wall construction.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel wallforming member which is of a general channel shape and has at least onereinforcing member therein, the reinforcing member including a pair ofload transferring posts whereby vertical collapsing of the wall formingmember is resisted.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide novel 3,17,755Patented Oct. 22, 1963 FIGURE 7 is an enlarged perspective view of areinforcing member.

FIGURE 8 is a View similar to FIGURE 7 and shows a modified form ofreinforcing member.

Reference is now made to the drawings in detail wherein a buildingconstructed in accordance with the invention is best shown in FIGURES 1and 2, the building being generally referred to'by the numeral 10. Thebuilding 10 includes the usual footing .12. which is embedded in theground 14 and projects above the level of the ground. Walls 16, formedin accordance with the invention, are seated on the footing 12 and haveformed therein in the usual manner windows 18 and doors 20*.

The building Iii also includes the usual first floor joists 22 carryinga floor 24, second floor joists 26 carry ing a ceiling 2'8 and a floor30, ceiling joists 32 carrying a ceiling 34, and roof rafters 36. Theceiling joists 32 wall forming members which may be stacked to form aWall, each wall forming member being hollow and including a bottom walland side walls which may define finished walls of a building, and thewall forming member having insulating panels disposed alongside the sidewalls to provide an insulated construction.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel building wallforming member which is formed of sheet metal and has a generallyuashape to form a hollow wall, and a wooden combined reinforcing andnailing member extending between upper portions of the wall formingmembers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel reinforcing memberfor insertion into a hollow building wall member to both reinforce thebuilding wall member and to provide, in combination with otherreinforcing members, an internal column assembly.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a novel buildingconstruction which includes walls formed of hollow sheet metal membersand has provisions for the mounting of wooden joists and like woodenmembers.

With the above, and other objects in view that will hereinafter appear,the nature of .the invention will be more clearly understood byreference to the following detailed description, the appended claims andthe several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a building formed inaccordance with the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary transverse vertical sectional view takenthrough the building of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary internal perspective view with partsshown in section and other parts interrupted.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the building inthe area of the roof.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view showing parts oftwo interconnected wall forming members.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line6-- 6 of FIGURE 5.

section.

and the roof rafters 36 combine to define overhanging eaves, as are bestshown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 4.

Each wall 16 is formed of a plurality of stacked wall forming members40. Each member 40 is of a hollow construction and is formed of sheetmaterial, preferably metal, the member 49 being generally U-shaped incross Each member 40 includes a bottom wall 42 with depending flanges 44along opposite edges thereof. Lower flanges 46 extend outwardly'from thelower edges of the flanges 44 and terminate in upstanding side walls 748. The side Walls 48 are in spaced parallel relation and terminate attheir upper ends in upper inwardly directed flanges 50 which, in turn,terminate in upright flanges 52 having free upper edges. The flanges 52are more closely spaced than the flanges 44- to fit in between theflanges 44 of a next upper member 44). A

Each of the wall forming members 40 tapers slightly from end to end sothat aligned members 40 may have their ends joined together by beingtelescoped, as is best shown in FIGURE 5. When desired, each member 40may be insulated by means of insulating panels 54 which extend betweenthe flanges 46 and 50 along the side walls 48.

At least certain of the wall forming members 40 are provided withreinforcing members 56, best shown in FIGURE 7. The reinforcing member56 is formed from a single sheet and includes a central plate 58 havingfolded upright posts 60 along vertical edges thereof. The posts 60extend below the lower edge of the plate 58 and a lower flange 62extends from the lower edge of the plate 58 between the posts 60. Theplate 58 extends above the tops of the posts 60 and terminates in anupper flange 64 overlying the lower flange 62. The upper flange 64 hastabs 66 at the ends thereof.

A reinforcing member 56 is slid into a member 4% through an end thereofwith the tabs 66 in upwardly sloping positions as shown in FIGURE 7 andby dotted lines in FIGURE 6. The lower ends of the posts 60 are seatedin channels each of which is defined by a depending flange 44, a lowerflange 46 and a lower portion of an associated side wall 48. The upperends of the posts 60 provide support for the upper flanges 50. After areinforcing member 56 is slid into a member 40, to the desired position,the tabs 66 are bent down to their solid line positions of FIGURE 6 toclamp the upright flanges 52 against the upper portion of the plate 58.

Reference is now made to the lower portion of FIG- URE 3 where it isshown that a sleeper 68 overlies the footing 12. The sleeper 68 is inthe form of a length of wood partially embedded in the footing 12 andprojects above the footing 12 to project into the recesses in themembers 40 as a key, each of the recesses being defined by a bottom wall42 and the associated depending flanges 44.

Certain of the members 40' seated on the footing 12 are provided withopenings 7 0 through which ends of the joists 22 project. The ends ofthe joists 22 terminate within the members 40 and are seated on thebottom Walls 42. The walls 16 are built up by stacking others of themembers 40 in rows with the joints between members being staggered. Itis to be noted that the rein forcing members 56 are disposed in verticalalignment to not only reinforce the respective members 40, but to alsoform internal columns.

The members 40 at the appropriate level for the joists 26 are providedwith openings 72 through which the joists 26 project into the interiorsof the members. in order to stiflen the walls 16 supporting the joists26, the members 40 in the row immediately below the joists 26 havewooden reinforcing members 74. The members 7 4 are nailed betweenassociated ones of the upright flanges 52 and bear against theundersides of the bottom walls of the members 46 receiving the joists26.

When the members 74 are used, the reinforcing member 76 of FIGURE 8 isrequired. The member 76 is similar to the member 56 and is formed of asingle sheet. The member 76 has a plate 78, posts 80 and a lower flange82. The plate 7 8 terminates below the upper ends of the posts 80 toprovide clearance for the members 74, and an upper flange 84 extendsbetween the posts 8%.

Reference is now made to FIGURE 4 wherein it is shown that the member-s40 in the uppermost row have reinforcing members 86 nailed to theflanges 52 thereof. The reinforcing members 86 are identical to thereinforcing members 74. At the eaves of the building 16, eaves plates 38are provided. Each of the eaves plates 88 has an internal portion 90which is configurated to nest with the members 4%} at the tops of thewalls l6. Each eaves plate 88 terminates at its outer edge in anupstanding flange 92 which abuts the ends of the ceiling joists 32. Theeaves plates 8% are suitably secured to the ceiling joists 32. bynailing.

The wall forming members 40 may also be used to form an interior wall94, as is shown in FlGURE 3. A

sleeper 96 is secured to the floor 24 and opposed upright channelmembers 98 and 1690 are positioned at opposite ends of the sleeper fit)with the channel member 160 being disposed against the adjacent wall 16.Wall forming members 40 are stacked over the sleeper 96 with the ends ofthe members 4 9 being received in the channel members 98 and 190. a

In the event additional rigidity of the members 4% flanges being lessthan the spacing between said depending flanges whereby upright flangesof a lower member may nest between depending flanges of a next uppermember, at least one reinforcing member, said reinforcing member beingprimarily disposed within said building wall forming member andincluding two spaced posts having lower ends seated in said channels andupper ends abutting undersides of said upper flanges.

2. The building wall forming member of claim 1 together with a Woodencombined reinforcing member and nailing member secured between saidupright flanges.

3. The building wall forming member of claim 1 together with insulationpanels disposed adjacent said side walls and engaged between said upperand lower flanges.

4. In a vertically disposed load bearing building Wall a forming memberin the form of an elongated hollow block, said member being formed ofsheet metal and including a bottom wall, depending flanges extendingalong the edges of said bottom wall, lower flanges extending outwardlyfrom lower edges of said depending flanges, side walls extendingupwardly from said lower flanges in generally parallel relation; lowerportions of said side 7 walls, said lower flanges and said dependingflanges combining to deflne downwardly projecting and upwardly openingchannels alongside said bottom wall; upper flanges extending inwardlyfrom upper edges of said side walls, and upright flanges extendingupwardly from inner edges of said upper flanges, said upright flangeshaving 1 free upper edges and the spacing between said upright flangesbeing less than the spacing between said depending flanges wherebyupright flanges of a lower member may nest between depending flanges ofa next upper member, at least one reinforcing member, said reinforcingmember being primarily disposed within said building wall forming memberand including a vertical plate,

upright posts along vertical edges thereof, said posts having lower endsseated in said channels and upper ends abutting undersides of said upperflanges.

5. In a vertically disposed load bearing building wall a forming memberin the form of an elongated hollow block, said member being formed ofsheet metal and including a bottom wall, depending flanges extendingalong the edges of said bottom wall, lower flanges extending outwardlyfrom lower edges of said depending flanges,

is desired, they may be filled. The filling could be'sand, dirt from theexcavation for the building, or, if extreme rigidity isdesired,concrete.

Another advantage of the present invention is that prior to the erectionof the walls 16 and 94, the members 48 may be nested for storage andshipment.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided anovel building construction including a novel wall forming member. Whilea preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed, it is to beunderstood that minor modifications may be made in the invention withinthe spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appendedclaims. 1

I claim:

1. In a vertically disposed load-bearing building wall a forming memberin the form of an elongated hollow block, said member being formed ofsheet metal and including a bottom wall, depending flanges extendingalong the edges of said bottom wall, lower flanges extending outwardlyfrom lower edges of said depending flanges, side walls extendingupwardly from said lower flanges in generally parallel relation; lowerportions of said side walls, said lower flanges and said dependingflanges combining to define downwardly projecting and upwardly openingchannels alongside said bottom wall; upper flanges extending inwardlyfrom upper edges of said side walls, and upright flanges extendingupwardly from inner edges of said upper flanges, said upright flangeshaving free upper edges and the spacing between said depending sidewalls extending upwardly from said lower flanges in generally parallelrelation; lower portions of said sidewalls, said lower flanges and saiddepending flanges combining to define downwardly projecting and upwardlyopening channels alongside said bottom wall; upper flanges extendinginwardly from upper edges of said side walls, and upright flangesextending upwardly from inner edges of said upper flanges, said uprightflanges having free upper edges and the spacing between said uprightflanges being less than the spacing between said depending flangeswhereby upright flanges of a lower member may nest between dependingflanges of a next upper member, at least one rein-forcing member, saidreinforcing member being primarily disposed within said building wallforming member and including a vertical plate, upright posts alongvertical edges thereof, said posts having lower ends seated in saidchannels and upper ends abutting undersides of said upper flanges, saidposts being integral with said plate and being of a folded construction.

walls, said lower flanges and said depending flanges com-f bining todefine downwardly projecting and upwardly opening channels alongsidesaid bottom Wall; upper flanges extending inwardly from upper edges ofsaid side walls, and upright flanges extending upwardly from inner edgesof said upper flanges, said upright flanges having free upper edges andthe spacing between said upright flanges being less than the spacingbetween said depending flanges whereby upright flanges of a lower membermay nest between depending flanges of a next upper member, at least onereinforcing member, said reinforcing member being primarily disposedwithin said building wall forming member and including a vertical plate,upright posts along vertical edges thereof, said posts having lower endsseated in said channels and upper ends abutting undersides of said upperflanges, a lower flange on said plate resting on said bottom wall, andan upper flange on said plate extending between said upright flanges inoverlying relation and terminating in depending ears clam-ping saidupright flanges against said plate.

7. A reinforcing member for hollow sheet metal building blockings, saidreinforcing member comprising a plate intended to be verticallydisposed; said plate having vertical edges, a bottom edge and an upperedge; hollow folded posts projecting from said plate along said verticaledges and being formed integrally therewith, said post depending belowsaid plate lower edge, a lower flange extending from said plate loweredge between said post, an upper flange overlying said lower flange andprojecting from said plate upper edge, said upper flange having asecuring ear at each end thereof.

8. In a building construction, a vertically disposed load-bearingbuilding wall formed of a plurality of stacked and nested wall formingmembers, each of said members being formed of sheet metal and includinga bottom wall, depending flanges extending along the edges of saidbottom wall, lower flanges extending outwardly from lower edges of saiddepending flanges, side walls extending upwardly from said lower flangesin generally parallel relation; lower portions of said side walls, saidlower flanges and said depending flanges combining to define downwardlyprojecting and upwardly opening channels alongside said bottom wall;upper flanges extending inwardly from upper edges of said side walls,and upright flanges extending upwardly from inner edges of said upperflanges, said upright flanges having free upper edges and the spacingbetween said upright flanges being less than the spacing between saiddepending flanges, upright flanges of a lower member nesting betweendepending flanges of the next upper member and being retained thereinagainst lateral displacement, a wooden member secured between uprightflanges of ones of wall forming members disposed in a row, spacedopenings formed in inner ones of the side walls of wall forming memberdisposed in a next upper row, and joists having ends extending throughsaid openings with said joist end resting on and being secured to saidwooden member.

9. In a building construction, a vertically disposed load-bearingbuilding wall formed of a plurality of stacked and nested Wall formingmembers, each of said members being formed of sheet metal and includinga bottom wall, depending flanges extending along the edges of saidbottom wall, lower flanges extending outwardly from lower edges of saiddepending flanges, side Walls extending upwardly from said lower flangesin generally parallel relation; lower portions of said side walls, saidlower flanges and said depending flanges combining to define downward-1yprojecting and upwardly opening channels alongside said bottom wall;upper flanges extending inwardly from upper edges of said side Walls,and upright flanges extending upwardly from inner edges of said upperflanges,

said upright flanges having free upper edges and the spacing betweensaid upright flanges being less than the spacing between said dependingflanges, upright flanges of a lower member nest between dependingflanges of the next upper member and being retained against lateraldisplacement thereby, an eaves plate secured to uppermost ones of saidwall forming members and projecting outwardly from said wall, and joistsseated on said eaves plate.

10. The building construction of claim 9 wherein said eaves plate isinterlocked with said uppermost wall forming members.

11. A vertically disposed, load-bearing building wall comprising aplurality of stacked and nested wall-forming members, each of saidmembers being formed of sheet metal and including a bottom wall,depending flanges extending along the edges of said bottom wall, lowerflanges extending outwardly from lower edges of said depending flanges,side walls extending upwardly from said lower flanges in generallyparallel relation; lower portions of said side walls, said lower flangesand said depending flanges combining to define downwardly projecting andupwardly opening channels alongside said bottom wall; upper flangesextending inwardly from upper edges of said side walls, and uprightflanges, said upright flanges having free upper edges and the spacingbetween said upright flanges being less than the spacing between saiddepending flanges, upright flanges of the lower member nesting betweendepending flanges of a next upper member and retained therein againstlateral displacement, internal reinforcements extending transversely ofsaid wall-forming members and being vertically aligned to provideinternal columns therein, said internal reinforcements each comprising avertical plate having tubular posts along vertical edges thereof, thelower ends of said posts being seated in said upwardly opening channelsalongside said bottom wall, the upper ends of said posts abutting theundersides of said upper flanges.

12. The building construction of claim 11 wherein said vertical plateincludes a lateral flange at the upper edge thereof, said lateral flangeincluding bendable ears overlying the upper ends of said posts andengaged over the free edges of said upright flanges.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,144,646 Zalkind Jan. 24, 1939 2,209,564 Gnubb July 30, 1940 2,275,037Watter Mar. 3, 1942 2,505,343 Stolz Apr. 25, 1950 2,762,470 Parkes etal. Sept. 11, 1956 2,856,039 Hawkinson Oct. 14, 1958 2,978,077 Wood Apr.4, 1961

1. IN A VERTICALLY DISPOSED LOAD-BEARING BUILDING WALL A FORMING MEMBERIN THE FORM OF AN ELONGATED HOLLOW BLOCK, SAID MEMBER BEING FORMED OFSHEET METAL AND INCLUDING A BOTTOM WALL, DEPENDING FLANGES EXTENDINGALONG THE EDGES OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, LOWER FLANGES EXTENDING OUTWARDLYFROM LOWER EDGES OF SAID DEPENDING FLANGES, SIDE WALLS EXTENDINGUPWARDLY FROM SAID LOWER FLANGES IN GENERALLY PARALLEL RELATION; LOWERPORTIONS OF SAID SIDE WALLS, SAID LOWER FLANGES AND SAID DEPENDINGFLANGES COMBINING TO DEFINE DOWNWARDLY PROJECTING AND UPWARDLY OPENINGCHANNELS ALONGSIDE SAID BOTTOM WALL; UPPER FLANGES EXTENDING INWARDLYFROM UPPER EDGES OF SAID SIDE WALLS, AND UPRIGHT FLANGES EXTENDINGUPWARDLY FROM INNER EDGES OF SAID UPPER FLANGES, SAID UPRIGHT FLANGESHAVING FREE UPPER EDGES AND THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID DEPENDING FLANGESBEING LESS THAN THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID DEPENDING FLANGES WHEREBYUPRIGHT FLANGES OF A LOWER MEMBER MAY NEST BETWEEN DEPENDING FLANGES OFA NEXT UPPER MEMBER, AT LEAST ONE REINFORCING MEMBER, SAID REINFORCINGMEMBER BEING PRIMARILY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID BUILDING WALL FORMING MEMBERAND INCLUDING TWO SPACED POSTS HAVING LOWER ENDS SEATED IN SAID CHANNELSAND UPPER ENDS ABUTTING UNDERSIDES OF SAID UPPER FLANGES.